Loose Leaf Notes

We could see the sun set from the Café Del Sol comfy couch at September’s Spoken Word. It filled the café with a golden glow and shone on early readers at the open mic. A few of us were slightly overdressed in fancier than normal clothing, having come from our friend Jeri’s wedding earlier in the day. It was also Jayn’s birthday and she received a few gifts, some in the manner of Mary Oliver poems read and dedicated to her.
The name Palin was mentioned at the mic, by way of poetic license. There was a paradoxical theme, introduced by Wolf and carried on by Chelsea, who read a poem about Pro-life/Pro-choice …except when … except when … except when. Mara brought a brown paper grab bag of poems from which audience members picked. I read my summer beach vacation report in the form of one-liners: In a pinch when I’m at the beach without a notebook, I can write on a clam box menu using my flip flop sandal for a desk.
First time reader Gloria read several poems. She received a rousing round of applause for her poem about retirement, the humor of which was reminiscent of Jenny Joseph’s “When I’m Older I Shall Wear Purple.” Jayn confessed that she was an “Old Hippie” with title of her latest poem. Greg read “When Our Beards Were Brown,” and other poems.
Steve Saft (pictured above) returned to the mic after a long absence. He read three new poems, one of which urged gratefulness for “Another Day of Life.” The final stanza of that poem read, Focus on the now, not on what you think is missing. Be grateful you can still have that latest obsession— money, family, the unpublished books. Old as you are, old poet, you still are, and from you, we do not have that final verse.
Steve, a Carroll County resident who is currently recovering from a serious illness, has a new book out. It’s an adventure story told in the form of a narrative poem. The book, titled Murdoch Mcloon and His Windmill Boat is available for sale at Xlibris and Amazon.com. You can read more it and about Steve’s previously published book on at his website HERE.
Fellow teapoet, Katherine soothed the audience with her poem titled, “Day with Darjeeling.” Mara’s daughter Kyla (pictured above) closed the evening with a sweetly sung acapella song. You can hear of clip of her singing HERE.